Ramos Pinto

Ramos Pinto Tasting
Vivat Bacchus
9 March 2009

Duas Quintas, Branco 2007
White table wine
Very similar to a sauvignon blanc. Actual grape varieties are Viozhinho, Rabigato and Arinato. Pale (almost translucent) lemon green. Grassy and asparagus on the nose with green fruit and a little peach. Feels a little hot but otherwise refreshing and quite well balanced.

Duas Quintas, Tinto 2006
Red table wine
Massive burst of ribena and cherry. Full bodied and very tannic with quite high acid. A bit of an assault on the mouth, but this would be softened with food. Good length. Overall pretty good. Drinking well now but would probably benefit from a little time.

Ruby Reserve "Collector"
A little bit of spirit on the nose - not quite integrated into the wine. Intense black fruit. Smooth, full-bodied and quite sweet. Good length with a hot finish. Very pleasant.

LBV 2003
The grape spirit is still there but more integrated than in the Ruby. Very acidic and sweet. Good length, maybe a little unbalanced on the finish.

2000 Vintage
There is lots going on with this wine. Intense black fruit, some floral notes and some leathery, savoury and spicy development character beginning to show. Quite a complex nose. Full bodied and tannic with acidity to balance the sweetness. This is well balanced and very long. I like this one a lot.

10-year old Tawny
Deep tawny colour. Nutty character (predominantly almonds). Fruit character is reminiscent of dried fruit. Maybe figs. Not bad.

20-year old Tawny
Burnished amber. Much more complexity on the nose. Marzipan, almonds, dried apricots. Sweet but with good adicity. Intense and well balanced. This is very good, and a serious step up from the 10-year old. Which is a little unusual because normally I find the difference between the 10 and 20-year old tawny to be quite small.